BOSTON — If there was any doubt that the saltiness had returned to the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, it evaporated late Wednesday night when a 97-mph fastball from Boston reliever Joe Kelly found its intended target: Tyler Austin’s ribs.
Austin slammed his bat down, fired his helmet to the ground and charged after Kelly, and soon both benches and bullpens were empty.
Benches clear, punches thrown in Yankees-Red Sox after Tyler Austin is hit by a pitch from Joe Kelly. pic.twitter.com/wvqoak8QMV
It may not have quite matched Jason Varitek’s massaging Alex Rodriguez’s face with his glove, Lou Piniella’s flattening Carlton Fisk at the plate or Pedro Martinez’s throwing Don Zimmer to the ground, but it was still the signature moment in the New York Yankees’ 10-7 victory at Fenway Park.